Trade routes were influential in the advancement of society and helped cultures combine to advance them into a new age.

Medieval trade routes were extremely important in the development of society; they allowed cultures to combine and extract the superlative advancements in technology general welfare, forming an exchange of the best parts of each culture. Three cities are particularly good examples of how trade routes were integral to the advancement of the world. These cities are: Cairo because of its’ geographical position, Venice because of it’s power and abundance of tradable goods and commodities, and Constantinople because of it’s history.

Even though modern day Cairo is not a particularly wealthy city, medieval Cairo was influential to trade between eastern and western countries. It’s geographical position was perfect to help connect trade routes between the east and the west.

Throughout ancient times, Egypt has been one of the most important trade routes for the world and so it was from that, just as the archaic cities which proceeded Fustat, this new city also prospered from all manner of goods which where transshipped to wealthy markets in Europe. They also developed their own markets in spices, textiles and perfumes which were legendary throughout the world.

Two of the most popular traded items in Cairo were spices and silk, both of which came from the east. The Roman name Arabia Felix, or Happy Arabia was the trading center located on the South east coast of Arabia. There merchants traded Egyptian linens, Syrian glass, Chinese silks and the spices of Indonesia and all over the east. This is where most traders took port before Cairo and rested or repaired there ships and rejuvenated their crew. It was the last big city or stronghold before Cairo, so the crew made sure to really live it up just in case this trip was their last.

Spices were essential in the middle ages. the were used for flavor, for medicines, and for magic. They were so valuable that people used spices as a medium of exchange. The search for spices and the wealth and power that came with them encouraged many men to venture on journeys of exploration. Cinnamon came from China and Burma and was used not only for flavor but for cosmetics, drugs, balms, oils, and perfume. Nutmeg came from the Banda Islands. Cloves came from only two island; Ternate and Tidore in the Moluccas (south of Indonesia) which were also know as the Spice Islands. Pepper was grown only in India, although there were some poor substitutes found other places. Pepper was used extensively in cooking but was also believed to be a tonic, a stimulant, even as insect repellent and an aphrodisiac.

The spice route during the time of the great Mongol Kahns, was completely overland across Asia. However by the 14th century, the route had become unsafe from raiders and grazing for the caravan’s animals was unreliable. In 1368, the Ming Dynasty regained control of China and immediately emphasized nationalism and isolationism in an effort to prevent future invasion.

Without Cairo, Arab and East-Asian traders would have to trek all the way through the harsh desert to Damascus, a dangerous journey even without having to worry about the vicious thieves along the way.

Land travel in the Middle Ages was slow, uncomfortable, and usually dangerous. Today we can travel around 55 miles in one hour. In the Middle Ages, it would have taken a very fast horse over two days to travel the same distance. A few main roads in Europe had been paved by the Romans and remained paved with cobblestones during the Middle Ages. However, most roads were made of dirt that turned into a river of mud when it rained. The paved roads were full of pot holes where peasants had “borrowed” a stone from the road to patch up their homes.

Another travel option not involving Cairo was to forget the ships and send their precious eastern cargo of to the silk road. The Silk Road was one of the greatest trade routes of the world. It was a legendary caravan trail which brought the East to the West through a nest of pathways that began in China, snaked through Central Asia and ended in Rome. It transformed exotic luxury goods into household necessities for the avid consumers of the Roman Empire. In doing so it created the first mass market. This was bad for some of the traders, however, because they got a much smaller percentage of the profit than if they had used less middlemen. This is why so many merchants depended on Cairo and one of the reasons it became such an important city throughout the middle ages.

Venice was also an extremely influential city to all of medieval Europe, but unlike Cairo, this was not because of it’s geographic position, but purely because of it’s luck and it’s power.

The Venetian merchants who sponsored these trade caravans became very wealthy and influential. The cost and risk was very high but the rewards were great. It was said that a merchant could ship six cargoes, and lose five, but still make a profit when the sixth was sold.

Venice was the least typical of the Italian city-states of the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance. As opposed to it’s various Lords fighting amongst themselves to try and claim an extra mile of land, Venice’s leaders were developing a power city with a culture and society separate from that of the rest of medieval Italy.

Between 800 and about 1000, Mediterranean port cities like Genoa, Pisa, and Toulouse were doing very well. After the year 1000, the new port of Venice became increasingly powerful and therefore influential to the trade market.

During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, The Crusades helped to increase the amount of trade in the Mediterranean. Europeans who had been to the Eastern Mediterranean on crusade met Arab traders there, and brought Asian products back to Europe to sell. At the same time, the Crusades led the kings of France and England to impose a new tax in money, called the Saladin tax, that also helped to re-establish a money-based economy. Fairs and markets became more and more important.

Throughout the 1300s, Venice was built on the knowledge of shipping and trade routes acquired during the Crusades of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries to develop an extensive commercial network stretching across the Mediterranean and even into the Black Sea and northern Europe. They also developed a mighty fleet of over 3,000 ships, the largest fleet of ships built in at least the past millennia. This abundance of ships gave them power and control over the Mediterranean trade routes as well as some parts of the silk road through the Black Sea and the Hanseatic Route in the north.

By the end of the fourteenth century, Venice had fixed her gaze outwards to her shipping lanes and stood as a world power almost completely isolated from Italian infighting.

Venice was not just well known for it’s abundance of money, but also for it’s abundance of commodities. Venice was the main exporter of gold, textiles, glass and slaves, as well as a major exporter of other luxury goods, such as salt, barley and wine.

Venice was one of if not the most powerful western civilization throughout the 1200’s and 1300’s and remains a powerful city in a remarkably wealthy country today.

Constantinople was located in modern day Istanbul and is one of the most fascinating cities in the history of the world.

After a decline following the breakup of the Roman Empire, European commerce expanded gradually during the Middle Ages, especially during the 12th and 13th centuries. Long-distance trade became safer once merchants began to form associations for the protection of travelers who journeyed abroad. The main long-distance trade routes were from the Baltic and the eastern Mediterranean to central and northern Europe.

From the forests of the Baltic came raw materials: timber, tar, furs, and skins. From the East came luxury goods: spices, silks and jewelry. In exchange for these goods, western Europe exported raw materials and processed goods. The English sold woolen garments, the Dutch offered salted herring, Spain produced wool, and France exported salt; southern Europe was also rich in wine, fruit, and oil. The Italian and German cities straddling these routes promoted and financed the trade.

Nonetheless, throughout the Middle Ages, commerce between Europe and Asia was limited, because overland transport was expensive and because Europe possessed little of value for export to the East.

Today we can travel around 55 miles in one hour. In the Middle Ages, it would have taken a very fast horse over two days to travel the same distance. A few main roads in Europe had been paved by the Romans and remained paved with cobblestones during the Middle Ages. However, most roads were made of dirt that turned into a river of mud when it rained. The paved roads were full of pot holes where peasants had “borrowed” a stone from the road to patch up their homes.

Since land travel was so dangerous in medieval times, Constantinople used mainly sea trade routes. Constantinople was also in a perfect geographic location to do this.

Constantinople was on the edge of both the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. It was also the in the middle of the silk road and close to Damascus. This was the absolute perfect trading position because it provided ample opportunity to trade with the far east through the silk road, the northern countries through the Black Sea, and the Western world through the Mediterranean.

Since Costantinople was in this position, Venice was close by and a lot of Venetian ships were the ones bringing commodities and various items to Constantinople. Because of this, Constantinople had to pay taxes to the Venetians because there was always a constant threat of a cold war.

Although in the end things did not work out in the end for Constantinople, they remained a remarkably powerful city for centuries all because of medieval trade.

Medieval trade is a fascinating subject that explains how civilized society itself began. It allowed countries to learn and refine each others creations and discoveries and advance technology farther and farther into the future. For more on the subject, look at any one of the books in the bibliography section or enjoy privately researching the middle ages. In closing, these trade routes were influential to society and provided vital technological breakthroughs to help push society into a new era: the renascence.